After Being Forced to Kiss My Superior (GL) - Chapter 6
Autumn Li followed Jinyan Ji back to the office, but she never got any work instructions.
Bixia Winery was known for its strict standards when it came to winemaking. Every stage—fermentation, aging, and more—was handled with great care. Even in the vineyards, most of the work was done by hand. To preserve the unique qualities of each plot of land, grapes were often sorted by location and fermented separately.
It was an important part of the process, and Jinyan kept a close eye on it. She had instructed the production team to report their progress to her regularly.
They had barely stepped out of the elevator when Jinyan’s phone rang.
“I’ll head back first,” Autumn said quietly, giving her a small nod.
“Okay,” Jinyan replied, lifting her phone to answer the call without saying much else.
Autumn turned and returned to her own office. She hadn’t been sitting long before Assistant An walked in with a stack of documents.
“Could you scan these and send them to each department?” she asked kindly. Then, with a friendly smile, she added, “I could’ve done it myself, but since you’re new, this is a good chance for everyone to get to know you through email.”
“Got it, Sister An,” Autumn replied, nodding with a polite smile.
She’d done this kind of thing at her previous jobs too—just a short message at the end of the email introducing herself as the new hire and saying something like, Looking forward to working with you all.
Autumn was efficient and finished the task quickly. After sending the emails, she casually switched tabs and continued reading up on winemaking. When her eyes started to feel tired, she went back to check her inbox.
To her surprise, several replies had already come in.
She opened them one by one, and most of them simply said:
— Welcome~
She blinked, a little taken aback.
They actually replied.
At her previous companies, although they weren’t as big as Bixia, everyone was always extremely busy. Driven by a kind of intense “wolf culture,” people poured themselves entirely into their work and rarely spent time on social niceties.
Hardworking, yes—but also cold. Ironically, that was exactly the kind of environment her father and his business friends always praised.
…This was the first time she’d seen a workplace with such a warm and welcoming vibe.
Autumn couldn’t help but feel a little happy. After a pause, she picked up her phone and texted her friend Weiwei Yan:
Autumn: What are you up to?
Weiwei: On a break. Just helped a couple people sign up for membership cards.
Weiwei: You?
She paused, then added,
First day at work today, right? How’s everything going?
Autumn: Pretty smooth so far. Not too busy yet—still getting familiar with the job.
“That’s good to hear.”
Probably too lazy to type, Weiwei Yan sent a voice message instead:
“How’s the atmosphere there? How does it compare to the other places you’ve worked?”
She hit the nail on the head—that was exactly what Autumn Li had been thinking about.
“It’s pretty nice,” Autumn replied, copying her and pressing the voice button. Her tone was soft as she recounted what had just happened.
“I didn’t expect to be welcomed by so many people.”
“They seem like… really kind people.”
Her voice was quiet, almost whisper-like, and a hint of warmth slipped through the cracks of the tightly closed office door.
Jinyan Ji happened to be walking past with a fresh cup of coffee. She caught that one line as she passed—not loud, but the gentle emotion in it was unmistakable.
She paused for a moment, and without realizing it, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
It was a lovely compliment.
Autumn was quick to pick things up. Within just a week, she had already gotten a solid grasp on her tasks.
Usually, most of Jinyan’s assignments were handled by Assistant An. The ones she didn’t have time for—or those less urgent—would be passed on to Autumn.
But Autumn didn’t allow herself to slip up. She didn’t want to become another reason for her mother to nag her, so she stayed cautious and meticulous. In the end, she did quite well.
One evening after work, Autumn went home, showered, poured herself a glass of wine, and was gazing up at the stars when a message popped up on her phone.
It was from Assistant An.
She rarely contacted Autumn after hours, so Autumn assumed it must be something important and opened the message right away.
Assistant An: Ah Qiu, are you busy?
Autumn lowered her eyes and replied:
Autumn: Not busy at all. What’s going on, Sister An?
Assistant An: I just got a call—something came up at home.
Seeing that Autumn was available, she continued,
I already spoke with Director Ji. I’ll be taking tomorrow off. I might need to trouble you with a few things.
Her tone carried a touch of apology.
But don’t worry—I’ve taken care of most of today’s work. There’s just a little left.
She then sent over a list of pending tasks, along with a few important notes. Autumn carefully read through everything and reassured her that she’d handle it all properly.
The next day arrived in no time.
With Assistant An away, Autumn stepped into her role temporarily. That meant more direct contact with Jinyan Ji. First thing in the morning, she called the driver to confirm whether the clients scheduled for a visit had been picked up.
Once the call ended, she sent out meeting reminders and checked on the availability of the meeting rooms.
…The whole morning passed in a blur of activity.
Jinyan observed everything quietly. It wasn’t often she saw Autumn so busy and energetic. With a small smile, she asked gently,
“Tired?”
“Not really,” Autumn replied, shaking her head. “It’s nothing.”
She still had a stack of documents in her hands she hadn’t finished reviewing.
Jinyan paused briefly, then said softly, “Ah Qiu, you’re too tense.”
Tense?
Autumn Li froze for a second, not quite sure what Jinyan Ji meant. She looked up at her with a confused expression.
“You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?” Jinyan said gently, resting her chin on her hand. “Some of the work can wait until the afternoon. There’s no need to rush.”
“When it’s time to rest, you should rest,” she continued. “Pushing through things when you’re exhausted only lowers your efficiency.”
As she spoke, she reached out and pointed to a spot on the document in Autumn’s hands. Autumn lowered her head to look and immediately spotted a clear mistake.
She had completely missed it.
Feeling embarrassed, she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.”
Jinyan responded calmly, “It’s alright. I was going to go over it again later anyway.”
Then she looked at Autumn and added, “Go eat something.”
As she spoke, she opened her drawer and took out a small piece of chocolate, placing it gently into Autumn’s hand.
“Here—have a piece of chocolate to tide you over.”
Her voice lifted slightly at the end, playfully teasing.
“Otherwise people might say I’m overworking you.”
“…”
After eating and taking a short break, Autumn really did feel much better.
The clients they had been expecting arrived late due to some last-minute issues. Jinyan didn’t seem upset at all. Instead, she rearranged her schedule and personally took them to tour the exhibition hall.
Autumn stayed behind to finish sorting documents. Just as she was wrapping things up, Jinyan returned.
Autumn walked over and knocked on her office door. “Can I come in?”
Jinyan nodded. “Sure.”
Autumn stepped inside, holding the documents. “I’ve finished organizing these. I just want to double-check a few things with you.”
“Take a seat,” Jinyan said, motioning to the chair in front of her desk.
Autumn answered softly and sat down, leaning forward slightly as they began reviewing the files together. Jinyan listened carefully, occasionally offering her thoughts or suggestions.
By then, it was already past Bixia’s official closing time. Most of the staff had gone home. The floor was quiet, and the setting sun spilled into the room, casting a warm golden glow.
The silence was peaceful—until it was broken by the sound of a phone ringing.
Jinyan glanced at the screen and said, “Hold on, I need to take this.”
“Okay,” Autumn replied with a nod, using the short break to review the notes Jinyan had just mentioned.
She hadn’t brought a hair tie that day and had worn her hair down. With nothing holding it back, her soft hair kept falling into her face, making it hard to see.
She raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear, but it didn’t help much. A few strands still slipped loose, brushing against her eyes.
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her—Jinyan was walking over.
“Don’t move,” Jinyan said quietly.
Her voice was soft—so soft it felt like only the two of them could hear it.
Autumn froze, her body going still just as Jinyan had asked.
The next moment, a pair of warm, gentle hands reached toward her. Jinyan balanced her phone between her cheek and shoulder and carefully used her free hand to gather Autumn’s hair. She took the elastic from her own wrist and tied Autumn’s hair back with practiced, delicate movements.
Her fingers were warm as they brushed past Autumn’s ear, the heat lingering even after they were gone.
“There,” Jinyan said with a small smile, finally taking her phone away. Her voice was still quiet—just between them.
“You look beautiful.”